Summary: Framed for murder, Harry finds himself sentenced to Azkaban, as the wizarding world believes themselves rid of Voldemort forever. Only Harry knows the truth, but no one will believe him. Betrayed by friends, Harry finds out his true heritage, and disappears upon his release. After restarting his life in a completely new setting, he finds out that his past has no intention of leaving him alone.
Disclaimer: I'm sure you all know it by now… None of the characters you recognise are mine. Simple as that.
Chapter 9 : Plan gone awry
Dumbledore read the words elegantly written on the small piece of paper, before handing it around the group of wizards gathered around him. He had probably brought more people than necessary, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
They arrived with multiple portkeys, and found themselves staring at what appeared to be an abandoned old building. The shadows cast by the dim streetlight and the darkness of the night didn't really help its looks.
"He lives here?" said Ron, eyeing the building with great dislike. But before he could continue, Dumbledore cleared his throat.
"Let us go," He commanded, and strode towards the house confidently, his small army behind him.
Wolf watched his opponent calmly. His whole body ached, but he ignored it. He was pushing himself too hard again, he knew it, but he couldn't help it. Shinta was so rarely free to train with, and was one of the few who truly knew how to put up a good fight without seriously injuring the other. They both wore traditional Japanese training outfits, also known as a gi, since they were currently practicing a form of kendo, though it did involve other martial arts.
Shinta lunged forward, and Wolf dodged, then swung low, faking towards the man's legs, then swung at his midsection, hearing the resonating clang of metal against metal, as his blow was blocked.
Wolf faked again, then froze, eyes widening slightly. He jumped back out of the way of Shinta's attack, then raised his hand, effectively stopping the other man with the silent yet commanding gesture.
"Something is wrong…" He whispered, face paling slightly. "The house," He choked out. "Tell Naomi," He said, before disappearing soundlessly.
Shinta frowned as he hurried out, sheathing his weapon, as he went in search of the female Shadow Elf.
Flames wound their way out of the windows, licking eagerly at the roof, with fresh air to spur them on.
Wolf stared at the burning building for a moment, before turning to the large group that was assembled a safe distance away. A few people were crowding around a figure spread out on the ground, seemingly unconscious. As he approached, Harry felt his blood run cold upon identifying the unconscious figure. Sempath. He hurried into a jog, arriving moments later apparently unnoticed by the rest. Sempath. He could only see Sempath. He felt his face pale even more, as his eyes traveled to the flames.
"Where is she?" His voice was hoarse, eyes stuck on Dumbledore, who only now turned, and seemed to spot him. "WHERE IS SHE?" he shouted in panic, startling squeaks of surprise from a few of the people assembled.
"Ah, you must be Wolf. I am Albus Dumbledore. Please accept my sincerest regrets as to this unfortunate event," he said, indicating the burning building. "But fear not, we have your young housekeeper with us, safe and sound!" He smiled pleasantly, waiting for the relief that should appear on the silver-haired man's face at any moment now…
Wolf stared in horror. "She's still in there," He whispered, eyes sparking in fear, words unheard by all except for Remus, who frowned.
"Who-"
"What, sad that your sorry little building is burning down?" Sneered Ron, speaking before Remus could continue, though it seemed that his words went unheard to the silver-haired man's ears.
"Angel…" Whispered Harry, before taking off at a dead run towards the building. He ignored the shouts and exclamations, as well as the no small number of hexes thrown his way in an attempt to stop him. He felt a stupefy hit him in the back, and heard Ron's triumphant cry, but ignored them both. His shields could handle the Stupefy easily – he hoped. He did, however, curse his sore body; still aching from the many hours of training he'd had the past few days. He shouldn't have worked so hard all at once. He shouldn't have – no.
He couldn't think about that right now. Angel was still inside. He felt fear twist in his stomach like a snake, squeezing his insides until he felt ready to burst with dread.
He waved his arm and the door banged open, only to fall off its hinges, releasing a pent up wave of heat that blew towards Harry. He retaliated with frost, freezing the flames that licked the doorway, but it was only enough to keep him safe from the flames, but not from the wood that was falling around him. He ran up the stairs towards Angel's room. He could hear faint sounds of crying. Angel! She was still alive! Feeling his heartbeat quicken, he raced down the hallway, momentarily forgetting everything else except for that doorway. He felt the floor begin to crumble around him and cursed, stumbling to one knee. Picking himself back up hastily, he jumped as far as he could, escaping the hole that threatened to swallow him up.
He kicked open Angel's door, and shouted out in horror. The floor had vanished, and there was no sign of Angel. He felt panic boiling up inside him, his heart racing in fear, as he stepped forward and looked down. What he saw made him freeze in sorrow and anger. Angel was crying, trying to wake the immobile body of Teren, who still had her in a protective embrace, protecting her from the fall.
"Angel…" Teren… Wolf managed to choke out, but it was loud enough for his daughter to hear.
"Daddy!" Angel screamed, tears streaming down her face. "He won't wake up Daddy! Why won't he wake up?" She sobbed, pulling at Teren's shirt fruitlessly.
Wolf felt his emotions stir once again. Sorrow. Anger.
The Order. They had started this. They had killed one of his men. Just as he was about to jump down, he saw another beam detach itself from the roof, just above Angel, who whimpered in fear.
This time, his emotions went haywire. "NO!" he screamed, arm outstretched. Ice blasted in every which direction, save towards Angel and Teren. The flames were trapped beneath a thick coat of ice, flickering a few times, before dying from lack of oxygen. The beam froze in midair, attached by a few feet of solid ice to the roof.
Without further thought, Wolf jumped down, landing easily, sure-footed, even on the ice.
"Angel, I'm so sorry Angel, I wasn't here in time," He whispered softly, cradling her to his chest after detaching her from Teren's grip, still strong even in death. She buried her head in his shoulder, her whole body quaking with the sobs that wracked her small frame.
"I tried to wake him up, Daddy, but he wouldn't! I couldn't make him wake up! I made a shield for us 'n' everything! Why didn't he wake up?" She hiccupped, soaking Wolf's top with salted sorrow.
"Hush, it's all right," He said gently, levitating Teren behind him. "It's alright my Darling Angel," he crooned gently, though he himself wanted nothing more than to break down into tears himself, to scream at the world of his anger, his sorrow.
His legs trembled slightly from exhaustion. He should have controlled his magic more. He'd used too much, too recklessly. But what was done was done.
As he exited the now-frozen building, Naomi rushed over, looking extremely pale. She took a few moments to inspect them, searching for any injuries. After finding none, she spoke.
"Sempath told me what happened. She said that they barged in while she was cooking. She was too busy trying to defend herself against their accusations to pay attention to the stove. Everything caught fire so quickly. She tried to put it out, but they stunned her and took her outside. She couldn't even tell them about Angel, Teren and Veran," she said, as a few more tears leaked out. "Then they said that you'd gone inside… I feared…" She looked away, and spotted Teren. She froze. "Teren," She whispered. "No…" She took in his pale face, his lifeless body.
"He saved Angel when the floor caved in," he said softly, fighting back the urge to cry out in frustration. "Angel's magic shielded them against the fire and heat, but… I think… The fall killed him," he said softly, unable to look at Teren's limp form. No matter how many deaths he had seen or caused, the death of one he cared for would always cut at his heart.
"Veran…" Said Wolf, his breath catching slightly. "Where is he?" He turned to stare at the now-frozen house. "He couldn' t have…" No, Veran couldn't be dead as well… He was a wizard; he would have been able to escape…
He glanced at Naomi, who nodded and managed to pry Angel from his arms. She struggled at first, then saw who it was and immediately latched on, still trembling in shock.
Wolf turned, and headed inside, searching with his senses. "Veran?" He called carefully. He didn't want to be to loud, lest he crack the ice and cause the whole house to collapse. A few minutes later, he turned in the direction of the library, where he could Feel Veran's unmistakable aura. He walked quickly, safe and secure in his own element, and forced open the frozen door. The shelves were almost completely burned, but luckily there had been no books of value left in the room. He walked quickly towards the front of the room, where he saw the motionless body of Veran, trapped in between a bookcase and a roof beam. He was unconscious, but alive.
Wolf sighed with relief, as he banished the two offending objects with a wave of his hand. Veran was holding the remains of a children's story in his hands. Wolf sighed. He must have been down here looking for a book for Angel, while Teren helped her, perhaps, clean her room? And meanwhile Sempath was cooking a late-night snack, mused Harry, a slight frown marring his otherwise smooth features. The library was right underneath the kitchen, which was probably why the beam fell down, effectively trapping Veran. He was, luckily, in the triangle of safety beside the bookshelf, no matter how small it was once the bookcase had been crushed. That was probably what had saved his life.
He stood up and levitated Veran behind him carefully. He had a broken arm and leg, but he had no doubt that Naomi or one of the other members could heal him.
Wolf all but staggered outside, and was immediately called over by Shinta, who was frowning at a heated discussion between Naomi and Molly Weasley. Wolf felt his anger flare up, but pushed it down as best as he could, bringing Veran over to Noir, who was standing close to Shinta, a muggle medical kit already open on the ground. Wolf lowered Veran slowly to the ground, with care that seemed unfitting of him. Once the injured man was safe in Noir and Shinta's hands, he closed his eyes, before standing up, and walking over to the arguing pair, to save Molly for a painful fate. Elven children were extremely rare. No one got in between an Elf and their Child. Except for foolish humans he scowled slightly, before smoothing over his features, pushing down the parental rage that threatened to blast the redheaded lady away from his beloved. As a mother of seven, she should surely know what happened to parents who were denied their children…
"…obvious that you are not fit to be a parent! She could have been killed in that fire! You are much too young to be having children anyway!" Said Mrs Weasley, slightly red in the face from arguing. She held Angel firmly to her chest, preventing any struggle from the small child. He could feel Angel's fear and discomfort through their Bond. All elven families had bonds that ran deep. To sever a bond could mean the death of another.
Wolf growled softly, warningly, though only Naomi heard. He could feel her anger radiating off of her in waves. How Molly did not, he would never know. How Naomi held back from attacking, Wolf would also never figure out.
"I would suggest," He said coldly, the air chilling around him, as he stopped beside Naomi, "That you let go of our child, and apologize before things get out of hand," he all but hissed, eyes chips of jaded ice.
Molly stared at him for a moment, and Wolf could see the inspection that took place. "Now see here," She said in a rather annoyed tone, as if she had every right to be doing such actions. It was obvious that she thought rather little of Wolf.
"No," he replied, voice dropping into a warning growl, as he stepped forward, closing the gap between him. He felt Angel reach out and grab his hand in hers. He squeezed it comfortingly even as he spoke. "You will release our child, or you will suffer the consequences. You should know better than to stand between a parent and their child," he tried to control his magic, but he could not stop the frost that spread out around him. Only Naomi and Angel seemed unaffected.
The others had been drawing closer around them, forming a sort of semicircle around them. But Wolf ignored them, his instincts telling him to go for this woman, and this woman alone.
"Molly, perhaps…" Came the hesitant voice of Remus, carrying through the chilled air that had most shivering.
Dumbledore's arm came down gently but warningly on the werewolf's shoulder, stilling any further speech.
"Yes Molly," sneered Wolf, feeling his anger rising once again, as she made no move to release Angel. "Perhaps you should listen to others when they warn you," he spat. Oh, he really wanted to let his magic go wild, but he knew that such things could lead to unwanted attention and could alert others of his power.
"Mister Wolf, I sincerely apo-" began Dumbledore, stepping forward beside Mrs Weasley, and laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. But he was cut off as Wolf's eyes snapped to the old man's face, narrowing as they perceived another potential threat. Albus heard the growl at the back of the man's throat, reminding him so much of Remus, as the younger man spoke.
"Let her go, or you will regret it," He hissed, energy and magic balling around his hands, as his stance changed to offensive, ready to lung at them if necessary.
Albus frowned slightly, pushing down the fear that told him to do as the man said. He was clearly dangerous, and it was obvious now why he was the leader of a gang. If his child had that kind of power too… It would be very favourable for them to have them both on their side, but…
"Molly, perhaps it is best…" He said finally, glancing apologetically at the woman, who sniffed angrily, but hesitantly opened her arms. He did, after all, have to convince this man to join the ranks of the Order.
Angel immediately jumped into Naomi's arms, shivering slightly, trying desperately to hold back tears from leaving her already swollen eyes.
Wolf forced himself to calm down, seeing as Angel was safe again. His magic rebelled, wanting release. Panicking slightly, he let it flow into the ground, where it burst into freedom joyfully.
Albus smiled and opened his mouth to speak, when the house, now frozen, exploded in shards of ice that shot in every which direction at a dangerous speed, threatening to impale all those who stood in the way. Yet even as they shot towards the group standing in their direct line of fire, they stopped, inches away from Noir and Shinta, who were still calmly healing Veran, as if no explosion had ever occurred. They, of course, knew that Wolf would never allow any harm to befall them while he was around.
The shards of ice exploded into puffs of snow, drifting down slowly, harmlessly onto the ground below, creating a white layer from what was once a house. It was spread around a large empty lot, void of everything but dirt. Nothing was left of one of the places that Wolf and his gang had once called home.
Silence reigned, as Wolf breathed as deeply as he could, in an attempt to control his emotions. Naomi rested her hand on his shoulder, partly to calm him down, and partially to take comfort in his presence. He could feel her own emotions raging inside of her, even as she kept her expression calm.
His train of thought was interrupted by Shinta, who approached silently, placing a calming hand on Wolf's shoulder before speaking.
"She is awake. She wishes to speak with you," He said softly, glancing warily at the members of the Order of the Pheonix, namely Dumbledore, who seemed rather curious as to what was going on.
Wolf nodded, then with a warning look at Dumbledore, strode towards Sempath, who was staring at the sky, mixed emotions marring her otherwise gentle features. A few simple charms ensured privacy, as Wolf knelt down beside her.
"What happened?" He asked softly, as she turned to face him, head propped up by Noir's sweatshirt.
"I-I'm sorry," She whispered, glancing away, only to have Wolf gently take her chin between his fingers, and turn her head back towards him.
"Whatever happened," he said softly but sternly, "It is not your fault. I, in no way, place any blame upon your shoulders. Do you understand?" He asked, forcing her to meet his eyes.
She blinked away tears, then nodded. "I still should have been more careful…" She whispered, but since she seemed to want to continue, Wolf did not interrupt her. "I didn't notice them until they arrived in the kitchen, wands waving, sparks flying everywhere," She shivered slightly at the memory. "They pointed them at me, and demanded that I tell them where Harry Potter was. I told them that there was no Harry Potter there," She glanced at him nervously, but relaxed when she saw his nod of approval. She was, after all, one of the few who knew who he truly was. "They didn't seem to believe me at first, all except for one man who looked – well – exhausted. But I insisted.
"I had been cooking a midnight snack for Angel and the others, and hadn't noticed when the eggs started to burn, nor when the muffins caught fire in the oven.
They asked if there was anyone else in the house, but I didn't answer. I guess they assumed that I meant no. They were crowding around me, and blocking my view of the stove. I only noticed the fire when the kitchen began to heat up. The fire had already spread to the cupboard above the stove," she gave a sad smile, "I always knew it was too low down…
"I ran to find the fire extinguisher, but I think they assumed that I was running away from them. They stunned me, two of them, I believe, as a few of them missed, and that is all that I remember," she closed her eyes momentarily, then opened them when Wolf placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"You did the best you could. You handled the situation extremely well," he said, as kindly as he could while he felt anger towards Dumbledore. Had the man no common sense? They were wizards. They could have easily stopped the fire before it spread any further. And to take advantage of Angel in such a way…
He stood up slowly, then walked back to Dumbledore. Naomi had taken Angel a little ways away, though she did not want to leave Wolf there alone.
"You got past the fidelius charm," he said softly, dangerously. "What tricks did you use?" He asked, eyes flicking behind the Headmaster, surveying, judging those behind him. His eyes fell upon Professor MacGonagall, who bore a guilty look, unable to meet his eyes. As if she could feel his gaze, her eyes flickered up, intending to look away, but she found herself caught in the intensity of his gaze. The wordless accusations made her cringe, only breaking the gaze when Wolf glanced back at Dumbledore.
"I see," he said, eyes narrowed slightly. "Compelling charms, and exploitation of one of my trusted members. Dishonourable actions, Taking advantage of another's weakness. I can certainly see why they call you 'The Great Albus Dumbledore' growled Wolf, emerald gaze flashing dangerously.
Author's Note: Longer chapter… faster update…for once, heh. Hope you liked it! I was going to continue, but…it felt…right to stop here. XPP ahaha… hope it's not TOO bad of a cliffy o.O; Don't worry, their 'little chat' hasn't quite finished yet
The reason I mentioned making a sequel, is because I basically know how I'm going to finish the story, and…well, I always get ahead of myself xP. I have this fic's plot basically all in my mind, I simply need to elaborate and type it out, hehe.
I watched Harry Potter 4 last week… pretty good movie! It was rather like watching a bunch of movie clips placed together…for…2 and a half hours.. but for what they had to fit in there, it was very well done! That bath scene…heh, pretty funny. The sad scene, when Harry returns with Cedric's body…'fraid it wasn't quite so well done, but… Overall, good movie. Best one out of the four, I'd say.
Thank you SO much for your wonderful reviews! I appreciate every single one of them!
